The Packard Resurrection Project: Time to get serious

July 25, 2012

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Last week, I introduced my 1951 Packard 200 and revealed my slightly insane plan to get it up and running in time for the Woodward Dream Cruise. I'm thrilled and humbled by the support and encouragement that I received. I'm certainly going to need it.

I've consistently put four hours or so into the project each day after work, and I've made a lot of progress in the past seven days—despite not having the car in my possession for most of that period.

The picture you saw last week didn't show the mess inside or the rusty rockers. While most of the sheetmetal on the car was blessedly solid, moisture trapped in under-carpet insulation ate away at the driver and passenger footwells. Because I have no metalworking skills to speak of, I had to ship the car off to a local body shop.

So, with the car undergoing repairs, I devoted most of my time and energy to prep work. Cleaning and painting the myriad small components found on a car, such as hood brackets, headlight buckets and engine mounts, takes time and patience, but it's also therapeutic.

The car is back in my garage now, and while the new floor panels in the front driver and passenger areas cost both time and money, it was time and money well spent. Flintstone-style auxiliary foot propulsion was never a Packard factory option, to the best of my knowledge.

Prepping and painting the entire floorpan and trunk are next. The Packard's rusty rockers won't be replaced until the winter, as the time-consuming reconstruction work would deep-six any hope of getting on the road in time for the Woodward Dream Cruise.

Since getting the car back, the biggest development was in my mental state. When I was working on bits and pieces of the car—a headlight bucket here, a horn assembly there—it was easy to lose sight of the enormity of the overall restoration project. Progress seemed steady, as my refurbished components formed a nicely growing pile.

When the Packard itself returned from the body shop, however, I was reminded that all of those components were part of a larger whole. A much, much larger whole. It's my hope that all of the prep work pays off and assembly goes smoothly, but one can always expect a few complications with any project of this magnitude.

The Dream Cruise is coming. It's time to get serious.

The Woodward Dream Cruise is a celebration of Detroit's golden age and all things automotive, but the event as we know it today was born in 1995. As we prepare for the Woodward Dream Cruise, we'll be looking back at coverage from past years and keeping you up to date on the latest news. Whether you're looking for Dream Cruise photos, a bit of Woodward Dream Cruise history or recommended hotels and restaurants near Woodward, you'll find it all in Autoweek's Woodward Dream Cruise section.

Graham Kozak
- Graham Kozak drove a 1951 Packard 200 sedan in high school because he wanted something that would be easy to find in a parking lot. He thinks all the things they're doing with fuel injection and seatbelts these days are pretty nifty too. Read more »See more by this author»